Improvement in corn-knives



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAMl MILLSPAUGH, MIDDLETOVVN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN CORN-KNIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 176,875, dated May 2,1876 application filed March 2, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MILLsPAUGH, 0f Middletown, iu the county ofOrange and State ot New York,'have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Corn Knives or Hooks; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', which willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form a part .of thisspecification.

rlhe nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangementof devices for fastening the blade of a corn knife or hook to thehandle, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the annexed drawing, Figure 1 is a side View, part in section, of acorn-knife embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the ferrule or collar used in thefastening.

A represents the handle, and B the blade, of a corn-knife of theordinary form. The han dle A is made perfectly solid, and has a ferrule,G, on its end,which abuts against a shoulder, a, formed on. the handle,as shown fully in Fig. l. The outer end of the vferrule C is made tocover the end ot the handle, and is made concave, as shown, withY twoprojections, b b, opposite each other, in which are made grooves m zr,toreceive the edge of the blade B at its inner. end. In the outer edgeof the blade, at the inner end, is a notch, d. D represents a screw orbolt,which is passed through a central hole in the ferrule C and screwsinto the handle A. f The outer end of the screw D is slottedlongitudinally for the insertion of the inner end of the blade B, theend of the screw being placed in the notch al of the blade, and thelower or inner edge of the blade in the notched or grooved projections bof the ferrule. By turning the handle A so as to screw the same up onthe screw D, the blade is firmly and securely fastened in place.

In the ordinary corn-knives the handles are fastened by screws orrivets, which is very imperfect, and the handles soon come loose. Withsuch fastenings it is impossible to prevent that, as the corn-knives areexposed to wet and dry constantly. The small piece of wood soon checks,and the blade becomes loose and unlit for use. t l

My invention overcomes entirely this difficulty, and at the same timeimparts double the strength and durability, as the handle is leftperfectly solid. In addition thereto, the cost is very much lessened;and I save both the cost of putting together and a considerable amountof the cost of packing, as they can be packed together, with the bladesremoved from the handles, in a very small compass, and will not be puttogether until they get in the retailers or consumers hand. The bladecan also easily and quickly be removed for grinding or sharpening.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a corn-knife, the blade B, ferrule C, and slotted loop D, having ascrew-thread on its upper end, the parts being held in position by meansof the loop and handle, without the use ot' metal screw-threads withinthe handle, all combined substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aflx my signatureinpresence of two witnesses.

WM. MILLSPAUGH.

Witnesses:

E. M. MADDEN, J r., C. U. MADDEN.

